War will begin within days
By George Jones and Anton La Guardia
(Filed: 26/09/2001)
TONY BLAIR cleared the way yesterday for military
strikes against Afghanistan within days by declaring
that the Taliban would become an enemy in the
battle against terrorism unless they handed over
Osama bin Laden.
Tony Blair: the Taliban is a regime 'founded on fear and
funded by drugs and crime'
Standing in the Downing Street garden, he said that
America and its allies had the power to do "very
considerable damage" to the Taliban. "Military
conflict there will be unless the Taliban change and
respond to the ultimatum given to them," said Mr
Blair.
As diplomats said that military action was likely to
begin "within a week", Downing Street announced
that Parliament would be recalled for one day on
Thursday of next week. Political leaders had already
indicated that MPs should be brought back only after
action had started.
Mr Blair's ultimatum, delivered 24 hours after he
briefed Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative leader,
and senior parliamentarians, was seen as preparing
British and international opinion for hostilities.
The Taliban were further isolated yesterday when
Saudi Arabia severed all relations with the regime.
Last night, a Saudi official said that Afghan diplomats
had been given 48 hours to leave the country.
This leaves only Pakistan maintaining diplomatic links
with Kabul since the United Arab Emirates cut ties at
the weekend. President Bush, whom Mr Blair visited
last week and vowed to stand "shoulder to
shoulder" with in the fight against terrorism, praised
the Saudis' "wise step".
Only President Musharraf of Pakistan, the traditional
backer of the Taliban, said that his country would
maintain contact because "at least there should be
one country who ought to be able to have an access
to them".
In a message to the American people, the Taliban
leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, stepped up his
defiance. He said the attacks on New York and
Washington were to avenge US "cruelty" towards
Muslim countries.
"The American people must know that the sad
events that took place recently were the result of
their government's wrong policies. Your government
is perpetrating all sorts of atrocities in Muslim
countries. Instead of supporting your government's
policies you should urge your government to
reconsider their wrong and cruel policies."
He added, without claiming to know who was
responsible: "The recent sad event in America was
the result of these cruel policies and was meant to
avenge this cruelty."
Mr Blair said the Taliban knew what it had to do. If it
stood in the way of bringing bin Laden to account, it
would be "every bit our enemy" as bin Laden
himself. "Our enemy's friend becomes our enemy
too," he said in his strongest warning yet that the
Taliban would be toppled unless it agreed to hand
over bin Laden.
He described the Taliban as a regime "founded on
fear and funded largely by drugs and crime" where
poverty and illness were endemic and women's
rights "non-existent".
Mr Blair emphasised the unity of the coalition lined
up against Afghanistan. He said military action would
be directed at the Taliban and not at the ordinary
people of Afghanistan and promised that Britain
would help efforts to deliver food to Afghan refugees
to avert a winter crisis.
The Prime Minister called his unscheduled press
conference after a day of non-stop diplomacy aimed
at securing international and domestic political
backing for military action. The most significant
breakthrough came late on Monday with President
Putin's announcement that Russia would share
intelligence with the West and help the opposition
Northern Alliance in northern Afghanistan.
In a historic address to the Bundestag in Berlin, Mr
Putin yesterday sought to capitalise on his gesture
by calling on the West to welcome Russia back to
the diplomatic top table.
Mr Blair did not state when the ultimatum to the
Taliban would run out nor does the Government
expect a positive response. But it was meant to
increase the pressure on the regime and provide
justification for America and Britain to take military
action.
"We have the power to do very considerable
damage to the Taliban regime, and any action we
take will be directed towards the regime, and not
the ordinary people of Afghanistan," he said.
As the world lined up behind the coalition, Abdul
Sattar, Pakistan's foreign minister, warned against
governments giving military aid to the Taliban's
Northern Alliance opponents. He said: "We must not
make the blunder of trying to foist a government on
the people of Afghanistan."
His comments were seen as reflecting concern in
Pakistan that Iran, an old enemy of the Taliban,
might, after yesterday's visit by Jack Straw, have a
greater say in the future of Islamabad's old client
state.
Recognising the delicacy of Gen Musharraf's position,
Mr Bush did not call on Pakistan to follow Saudi
Arabia's lead and instructed his officials to moderate
previous talk about overthrowing the Taliban.
The president said he wanted to "make sure that
Pakistan is a stable country and that whatever
consequences may occur as a result of actions we
may or may not take, is one that we do the best we
can to manage".
He called on Afghan citizens disenchanted with
Taliban rule to help the US pursue bin Laden but
added that he was not interested in
"nation-building" or supplanting regimes. "We're
focused on justice and we're going to get justice.
It's going to take a while probably but I'm a patient
man. Nothing will diminish my will and my
determination."
The Prime Minister attempted to calm concerns that
terrorists might be planning biological or chemical
weapons attacks on Britain after the head of the
World Health Organisation warned governments to
prepare for possible attacks. He said there was no
specific threat and it was important not to be
"alarmist" about such possibilities.
Labour confirmed that its annual conference in
Brighton next week would be cut short, finishing on
Wednesday to enable MPs to return to Westminster.
Mr Duncan Smith reaffirmed his "full backing" for the
Government's support for America's efforts to bring
the perpetrators of the World Trade Centre and
Pentagon atrocities to justice. "They were attacks
we simply cannot allow to go unpunished," he said.
portal.telegraph.co.uk |
